


Miscarriage

by Zethsaire



Category: Young Avengers
Genre: Dark, Implied Mpreg, M/M, Miscarriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-20
Updated: 2013-03-20
Packaged: 2017-12-05 21:42:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/728211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zethsaire/pseuds/Zethsaire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teddy just thinks he's sick.  Noh-Varr has to tell him it's a lot worse than that.</p><p>Note:  This is *Not* a happy magically-men-can-bear-children-and-everything's-okay fic.  It's dark, and depressing, and full of feels.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Miscarriage

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this sitting around on my computer for a while. It was originally a Nuclear Reaction tie-in, but then I discontinued that fic. All you really need to know is that Noh-Varr and Tommy are together, and that Noh, Tommy, Billy and Teddy all live in the lair. It's a close approximation to DangerousCommieSubversive's 30 Day Nohmmy OTP, except she doesn't do Mpreg. I don't either, usually, but this just wouldn't get out of my head.
> 
> Trigger warnings: I tried to make this as obvious as possible, but if miscarriage is a trigger for you *please* do not read this fic. 
> 
> Usual warnings for language.

Noh-Varr passed by William and Dorrek's room. He stopped, and sniffed the air. There was a scent wafting from under their door. He knew that smell from somewhere but...wait. He recognized it now; and that was a very, very bad smell. Teddy had stayed home from work today – he'd heard Billy asking Tommy to check in on him. He knocked on the door.

“Dorrek. Dorrek, are you in there? Are you alright?”

There was no answer.

He pressed his ear up against the door, listening. Earth etiquette demanded that he not just burst in and check on his lover's brother-in-law. He heard the sound of a toilet flushing, and then heavy footsteps heading back towards the living room at the front of the house.

“Dorrek?” he asked again, trying to keep the worry from his voice.

“Noh-Varr?” Dorrek's voice sounded a bit strained. “You can...uh...come in.”

Noh-Varr opened the door and peered in. Dorrek was sitting gingerly on the couch, with blankets pulled up over him, video game controller in his hand. He looked rather pale, and there was a mug of tea steaming on the coffee table in front of him, along with a rather mangled looking box of tissues. He glanced warily at the Skrull hybrid, but he didn't seem to have been crying.

“Dorrek, I am so sorry,” he said, sincerely. He'd never gone through the experience himself, but he'd heard it was quite traumatic.

Dorrek looked confused. “Sorry? For what?”

Now it was Noh-Varr's turn to be puzzled. He was taking this extremely well. Maybe...maybe Noh-Varr was wrong? “You are not feeling well.”

“Oh.” Dorrek seemed relieved. “No, it's alright. I've just got the flu or something. I've gotten it before.”

Now Noh-Varr was definitely concerned. “This has happened before? Are you sure you're alright?”

Dorrek put on an easy smile that Noh-Varr immediately knew was forced. For some reason, he was used to hiding behind a smile, and it seemed to fool the other members of the house easily. “Why are you so concerned Noh-Varr? I'm just sick. Everyone gets sick. It'll last a couple days, and then I'll be fine.”

“There should not be anything on this planet that could affect you in this manner.” He said seriously.

It was possible. The Skrull could be sick. But that smell, that was not a sick Skrull smell. He'd run into sick Skrulls before, especially while helping negotiate the truce. A sick Skrull smelled like rotting mucus. Dorrek smelled like blood, and death. He scrubbed his nose irritably. There was no way he was mistaking that smell.

“Does William know you're bleeding?” He asked.

Dorrek looked at him in shock. “How-how do you know that?”

“I can smell it,” he said. “Don't you think you should see a doctor?”

“I'm fine. It'll go away on it's own – I heal. I told you, this has happened before. I'll be fine.” Dorrek said quickly. He seemed...embarrassed. Noh-Varr was starting to worry that the hybrid really had no idea what was happening to him.

“Dorrek.” Noh-Varr tried to make his voice gentle, soothing. “Teddy.”

“That can't be good.” Teddy said. “You _never_ use my name like that.”

“Teddy,” he said again. Yes, this situation was delicate and intimate enough for pet names, even if it made him feel strange. “You said this has happened before?”

“Um. Yeah. A couple of times. Why? Do you know what's wrong with me?”

“I might. When was the first time this happened to you?” He tried to make his questions light, instead of probing. No need to make Teddy feel uncomfortable. He might still be wrong. He seriously hoped he was wrong.

“Uh...I'm not sure. After I proposed to Billy. He seriously thought I'd made myself sick with nerves.”

“How old were you?”

“Seventeen. Look, why are you asking about this?” Teddy asked.

Noh-Varr took in a quick breath. Seventeen was so _young_ for a Skrull. “Have you ever mated without protection?”

“What?!”

“Have you ever-” he tried to explain.

“I know what you mean!” Teddy had turned red, but whether that was from embarrassment or anger, he wasn't sure. “Yes! Billy and I are monogamous, and it's not like I can catch anything anyways. That's private! Why - why do you even care?”

The Skrull really didn't know. “Teddy...didn't your mother ever talk to you about this? I know she was...taken away when you were very young, but she didn't bring up sex with you at all?”

Fuck. He'd upset Teddy. The Skrull's anger had faded, and he now looked worried. He sat up further on the couch, before grimacing and pressing a hand against his abdomen. “Seriously Noh-Varr, what's going on? I'm fine. It's just the flu or something.”

“Teddy...I'm so sorry. You don't have the flu.”

“I-I don't? Then what's wrong with me? You know, don't you?” There was panic in the Skrull's voice now, and Noh-Varr knew it would only get worse.

There was one last chance. “The last few weeks, how have you been feeling? Have you been sick in the mornings? I believe the English term is 'nausea'? Having to use the bathroom a lot? Sudden, intense sex drive followed by a severely decreased sex drive?”

Teddy blushed again. “Yeah. Yeah, all of that. What – what do I have? Is it bad? Do I need to go see somebody?”

No. There was nothing a doctor could do now. “No. But you should call Billy. He should...I don't want to talk about it without him here.” He knew that wouldn't help Teddy's anxiety, but there really wasn’t anything he could do.

Teddy looked terrified, but he pulled out his cellphone and called his mate. “Billy? Yeah. I know you're in class but I really need you to come home. Noh-Varr...Noh-Varr doesn't think I have the flu; he thinks it's serious, and he won't talk to me about it until you come home.”

Billy appeared moments later, teleporting into their living room. He looked extremely worried. He went straight for Dorreck, hugging him tightly. “Are you alright?” he asked hoarsely.

“I – I don't know.” They turned towards Noh-Varr together, looking at him with anxious eyes. “Am I alright?”

“You're not going to die.” He said softly. He could at least give them that.

They looked momentarily relieved. Noh-Varr decided that stringing them along like this wasn't going to help anything, so he just said it, “Teddy was pregnant.”

There was silence for a minute. They just stared at him, as if they'd finally realized how much of an alien he was. Then they looked at each other, exchanging some kind of wordless conversation, before turning back to him. They started speaking at the same time.

“What do you mean he's pregnant -” Billy began, his eyes hot with anger.

“Did you say, _was_?” Teddy interrupted him, horrified.

Noh-varr tried to make it gentle. “Yes. He was pregnant. Skrulls don't...have genders like humans or Kree do. Each Skrull has a gender they prefer–like how Teddy is always male, even when he shape shifts. Most Skrulls have little problem switching between genders, like Xavin, who appears male most of the time, but shifts to female form on occasion. But all Skrulls are capable of bearing children.”

Teddy looked like he was going to be sick. “I...you mean I...but...” His words drifted off into nothingness, too numb to continue. He'd subconsciously shape shifted into his green skin, and had gotten smaller, shrinking into the arms of his mate, who held him in his arms, tucking Teddy's head under his shoulder. Billy was rubbing soothing circles on his arm, and his eyes were wet. They were both smart boys, they'd probably both figured out what he was trying to say.

“I got Teddy pregnant.” Billy said softly. “I didn't know...I...we've haven't been using protection for years. Usually, I mean, usually...”

“Usually I'm on top.” Teddy finished, his voice raw. “I've only bottomed a couple of times.”

He knew it was going to hurt, but Noh-Varr had to ask. “Have you gotten...sick...a few weeks afterwords?”

“Not every time but -” Teddy's eyes were definitely wet now. He looked away from Noh-Varr, burying his face in his mate's shirt.

“Skrulls lay eggs, Teddy.” Noh-Varr explained, knowing that since there was no other Skrull in their lives, that he would have to explain this as best as he could. He couldn't comfort them, but he could help prevent pain in the future. “Your mother should have told you. They reach sexual maturity later than humans, at about seventeen. When a Skrull is fertilized, the eggs develop slowly, over a period of about four months. After they are laid, it takes another six to seven months for them to hatch.”

Billy and Teddy just looked at him, probably too shocked to really process what he was saying. Billy was definitely crying now, and Teddy's shoulders were shaking. They didn't look like they were ready to ask any questions, or even to really process this information yet, so Noh-Varr continued.

“Usually Skrulls know when they are pregnant.” He said, not sure how to say that without hurting them. “Male Skrull bodies are not meant to carry eggs; the Skrull will always switch to the female form until the eggs are laid. They will also stop shape shifting, because it puts unnecessary strain on the eggs.”

A sharp sob tore its way from Teddy's throat. Billy glared hatefully at Noh-varr, like it was his fault that this was happening. Then he turned to Teddy and tried to comfort him as best he could, tears tracking their way down his face. Noh-varr's heart wrenched painfully. He hadn't wanted to tell them, but who else would have? He knew it was better that they know, but it made him feel more cruel then he'd ever felt before. This was worse than when he'd dragged them off to the Cube. At least then he'd had the excuse of not being in his right mind.

“Shh....it's alright.” Billy said softly, rubbing up and down Teddy's back.

He didn't look like he thought it was going to be alright. He was angry; Noh-varr could see it in the set of his jaw. Probably not angry with his mate, but angry with someone. Noh-varr, mostly likely, or perhaps his mate's mother, for not telling them. Noh-varr had heard Billy speak of Teddy's mother, so he knew they had met, and that she had known Billy and her son were together.

“It's not alright.” Teddy said, his voice broken. “I – I killed our _children_.” He broke down completely, huge, racking sobs shaking his body, as he wailed into his lover's chest.

“It's not your fault. You didn't know. We didn't _know_.” Billy said hoarsely, but he was crying harder now, burying his face in Teddy's blonde hair.

Noh-varr let them grieve. It really wasn't their fault. From what little he knew of humans, they seemed to have no knowledge of the other sentient races around them in their universe. Other then meeting them in battle, humans really didn't interact with aliens all that much. He'd tried to educate the Avengers about extraterrestrial culture, but they had been surprisingly resistant to learning. Seeing Billy and Teddy being confronted with what could only be explained as alien issues, Noh-varr was starting to understand why humans were so uncomfortable about it.

“It's not your fault.” He said firmly, once they had calmed slightly. Neither of them was in any way alright, but they had pulled themselves together for the moment. Once he left, they would probably grieve again. “Skrull pregnancies are extremely difficult. Skrulls are usually thoroughly educated before puberty about everything that can go wrong, and are often mentored by an adult who has already been through the process during the pregnancy.”

Teddy's voice was broken as he asked, “Why didn't my mother _tell_ me?”

“Skrull hybrids are usually sterile, and your mother wanted you to be able to live as human.” He said softly. “I'm very certain if she'd thought there was a chance you could get pregnant, she would have told you.”

Teddy started crying again. Dammit. He was terrible at comforting grief and loss in his own language, and he knew everything was coming out stiff and formal and terribly insensitive in English. He could see the pain and anger in Billy's eyes. Billy was extremely protective of his mate; really, Noh-varr was lucky Billy hadn't electrocuted him yet. The witch didn't tolerate threats to his mate – those threats were usually...eliminated, thoroughly and efficiently. Carefully, he got up, and made his way over to the couch, kneeling beside them. 

“I am sorry,” he said, and reached out a comforting hand to Teddy's shoulder. “I am very, very sorry.”

Then he got up, knowing his presence was probably no longer welcome. “Please...let me know if I can help, in any way. I...I will leave you two alone.”

He headed out of the room, leaving them with their grief, to comfort each other, as only life mates could do. He made his way into Tommy's room, where his lover was still sleeping, completely unaware of the chaos that Noh-Varr had unleashed in the other room. He lowered himself to the bed, wrapping himself around his lover and holding him tightly to his chest, taking small comfort in the fact that even if Billy and Teddy never spoke to him again, Tommy would still love him.


End file.
